Hi FWIW

I agree that all short selling should be stopped.

How one can justify "borrowing" something, and for the most part giving that "something" back with a lower value is an utter misuse of the word "borrow".

It is akin to fences who sell stuff that isn't theirs at bargain prices.

The fences are dealt with by the criminal system.

"Short selling" upsets the balance of one buyer and one seller. In "short" sales the number of sellers is increased. That extra seller is a "fence" as I see it.

I find it strange that anyone/group/institution can turn what is usually a criminal act into something legal (selling something that one doesn't own) just by saying it is so.

Can someone borrow anything else that belongs to you and sell it?

They have other instruments for "betting" against a stock.